Ati – one of our legends of sustainability
It’s important to take time to appreciate the people who keep our spaces clean and tidy, and there are none who do it better or with more pride than Atiogie Sagote (Ati).
Originally hailing from Samoa, Ati has been working behind the scenes to keep our Mt Albert campus sparkling for the past 10 years. He has been noted by many for going above and beyond in the name of recycling. Every day Ati arrives at 6am, using a leaf-blower to tidy the grounds and picking up loose rubbish that didn’t make it into the bin. He gets this noisy job done early to avoid disrupting our students and staff.
This is man who is passionate about working with people and – speaking to his true humble nature – for people.
After collecting the rubbish from the bins around campus in his truck, Ati takes it to a sorting area near B108 where he goes through each bag, redistributing items to the correct collection bin. He’s also developed a system to keep the bins smelling clean, by collecting rain water from the roof of the sorting centre in unused bins and using this water to clean the dirty bins.
One major challenge Ati faces when doing this important work, and one thing he would like you to think about, is food waste being put in the incorrect bin! Also, cardboard boxes can’t go in the yellow paper bins, who knew? These bins are just for ‘paper’ not cardboard which is treated in a different way. Boxes should be broken down and placed in the metal cages – outside Breaktime at Te Puna and behind B112.
His work is one of the cornerstones of Unitec’s commitment to being a more sustainable organisation, specifically through lowering the amount of waste we send to the landfill. That goal is made more attainable through Ati’s hard work!
To find out more about our commitment to sustainability, go to our Unitec – One Planet Living page.
Really heartening to hear the amount of care that goes into the monitoring and disposal of Unitec’s waste ‘signature’ on such a big scale. Thank you Ati for your amazing work and Comms for bringing this to our attention. It would be great to hear more stories about how individuals contribute to making this campus better particularly where sustainability is concerned.
Good job well done uncle!I’ll shout you lunch next time I see you on campus (try and take a break now and then to eat will ya!
Love your work Ati! I didn’t know about the cardboard recycling.
I think we all need to make more effort when disposing of our rubbish.